United slipped to an embarrassing 2-1 defeat against opponents that had easily dismissed 4-1 at Old Trafford a fortnight ago, as their recent poor form – just two wins in seven games – continued.

Ibrahimovic, himself, is currently suffering from a drastic loss of confidence resulting from a run of just one goal in his previous 11 matches. And the Swede appeared to let his frustrations get the better of him when he was pictured grappling with the Denmark international.

Kjaer, who played against former PSG striker Ibrahimovic during his time with Lille, admitted it was his intention to stick tight to the veteran forward throughout the game and was pleased his approach paid off.

‘I actually didn’t hear what he said but I do know that he wasn’t happy,’ Kjaer told Swedish channel 9. ‘But that’s the way I know him from the pitch. He is the kind of chest-puffing player, who is arrogant.

‘That is his way of playing. My way of playing is to mark him as tightly as possible and to give him as little space as possible, because he is a good player.’

Of the throttling incident, Kjaer added. ‘It is a part of football and I don’t take it too seriously. It is not the first time I play against him and I know how he reacts. It is not a problem. It is, like I said, a part of the game.’